Bio – Mimicry | The path to sustainable branding

Brand – the intangible source of value that merges know-how, intellectual property, visual presentation and visual translation of the corporate credo into lingua that can be simply captured through eyes | The personification of vision, mission and values that directs the strategy for an organization and leads cross-functional communication |  

If branding is the strategy of a business and marketing is its execution, what is the holy grail of high-quality brand directorship?

This is one of the questions that continuously strives for excellence to encapsulate simple but powerful recipe for success.

Where shall we look for answers to support drafting a master plan for branding?

Back to the roots, back to primal foundations, back to nature …

Nature is the constantly evolving collective phenomenon of life, death, change and transformation. It is the perfect representative of the symbiosis of various not necessarily related organisms including a diverse portfolio of plants, animals, other species and humans. It is also the most inherent feature, a quality or a character, a personality of something. In nature, the most fascinating phenomenon that humans have the honour to observe and experience is the continuous change that leads to consequences which consequently go through another transformation after transformation until reach the point of status quo which can be either life and survival or lack of it. Nature has this magical ability to transform and adapt to serve its inhabitants ….

Is there any correlation between nature and branding? Can sustainable and iconic or yet-to-become iconic brands learn something substantial from nature to advance their chances of survival?

The answer is

BIO – MIMICRY

biomimicry or biomimetics | derived from Ancient Greek: βίος, life, and μίμησις, imitation, from μιμεῖσθαι, to imitate, from μῖμος, actor | the approach that uses examples found in nature for the purpose of solving human problems or complex issues   

Biomimetics has managed to inspire various fields of science and engineering, examples of which can be seen in plans imitating birds or speedboats that look like thin sharks that move with the speed of light, just to name a few; but the question is:

Is there is a surface where high-quality branding can be elevated by nature through biomimetics?

#1 | Design 

This visual form of communication, an expression and the presentation of corporate identities to the external world is also the notion of non-direct messaging that unconsciously impacts the levels of loyalty amongst brands and its customers as well as interlocutors. In design, the key indicators for quality lay in the appropriate selection of the colours, the typography, the shapes, the lines and the imagery. If all those elements harmoniously interact to create a specifc mood or experience, the verdict is positive. Good design is very much based on the palette of nature, all shared, hues and tones are the replica of rainbow basic colours with a slightly extended spectrum of a variety of brightness levels, saturation modes, exposure, brilliance, highlights, shadows, contrasts, vibrance, warmth, tint, definition levels. Looking at some of the tangible and most inspiring creations of human craft that are founded on mirroring the beauty of nature have found their employment in architecture especially Scandinavian and Japanese schools of design that are aligned with the sustainable innovation rooted in heritage and appreciation to Nature.

#2 | Ethical and Sustainable Brands 

Fashion this industry is one of the cruellest but thriving, beautiful and exciting for one simple reason it creates dreams and makes them real by the use of a piece of clothing that if designed well and styled appropriately transform an ordinary day and an ordinary person in an unforgettable fairytale of dreams designed for royalty. Fashion industry especially emerging  brands and newly graduated adepts that are just stepping into the world of clothing, accessories, shoes and fragrance tend to shift their focus towards the sustainable way of making, manufacturing, outsourcing and communicating. Looking through the prism of ethical matters such as manufacturing techniques or the use of appropriate methods and practices in supply chains, many popular high-street names have already adapted their operations becoming ethically-friendly examples can be seen in conscious-living themed collections in some of the well-known names that dedicate their full collection to support cotton industries or local producers.

#3 |  Brand Strategy

This component is the priority on the whiteboard  of every single organization regardless of industry, profit sources or marketplaces. This core spine of an organizational credo that leads all marketing communication channels shall be crafted in line with authenticity and sustainability to excel its chances to succeed. Some of the steps that shall be addressed to create and launch a brand strategy that is purposefully crafted for supporting the long-term vision of a company are:

• brand audit
• brand discovery
• audit framework
• SWOT Analysis
• 3-Circle Analysis
• brand strategy palette
• archetypes + positioning
• inventory
• competitive assessment
• competitive landscape
• consumer insights
• brand conversion funnel
• market funnel
• customer profiles + personas
• customer segmentation

For more information on hoe to define a brand stratgey that works, including the key steps and execution plans as well as an aligned to needs CSR strategy – get in touch get in touch

Dr A A Drzewiecka